Guide for crafting native, persuasive, and high-converting marketing copy for French-speaking audiences. This skill prioritizes native French flow and psychological triggers, avoiding literal English translations.
Core Persuasion Framework: SONCAS(E)
French conversion copywriting relies heavily on the SONCAS (or modern SONCASE) psychological framework. When writing or editing copy, align the value proposition with one or more of these core motivators:
- Sécurité (Security): Reassure the user, eliminate risk. Use guarantees, certifications, social proof, and clear refund policies.
- Orgueil (Pride/Status): Position the product as premium, exclusive, or expert-level. Use terms emphasizing distinction, status, and leadership.
- Nouveauté (Novelty): Focus on innovation, state-of-the-art tech, and being a pioneer. Highlight what is new, unique, or revolutionary.
- Confort (Comfort/Convenience): Focus on ease of use, simplicity, time-saving, and frictionless experience. Strip away technical complexity.
- Argent (Money/Price): Focus on return on investment (ROI), discounts, cost-effectiveness, or savings.
- Sympathie (Sympathy/Affinity): Build emotional connection. Show brand humanization, shared values, and friendly, approachable register.
- Écologie (Ecology/Ethics): Focus on sustainability, ethics, local production (e.g., "Fabriqué en France"), and carbon footprint.
Logical Argumentation Structure: CAB & CAP
French consumers are analytical and value logical progression. Do not list features; map them using CAB or CAP:
CAB Structure
- Caractéristiques (Characteristics): The objective feature (what it is).
- Avantages (Advantages): What the feature does (why it's helpful).
- Bénéfices (Benefits): The real value to the customer (how it improves their life/business).
Example:
- C: Chiffrement de bout en bout.
- A: Personne d'autre ne peut lire vos données.
- B: Vous dormez l'esprit tranquille, sans craindre le piratage.
CAP Structure
CAP adds Preuve (Proof) to validate the advantage:
- Caractéristiques
- Avantages
- Preuves: Case studies, statistics, testimonials, or certifications.
Typographical and Spacing Rules
High-converting French copy must look professional. Standard English punctuation rules will degrade credibility.
1. Double Punctuation Spacing (Colons, Semicolons, Exclamation, Question Marks)
In French, all double-part punctuation marks (:, ;, !, ?) require a non-breaking space ( or a thin non-breaking space) before them and a normal space after.
- Incorrect: Êtes-vous prêt? Oui!
- Correct: Êtes-vous prêt ? Oui !
2. Quotation Marks (Guillemets « »)
Use French guillemets (« and ») instead of English curly/straight double quotes. Guillemets require non-breaking spaces on the inside.
- Incorrect: Il a dit "c'est parfait".
- Correct: Il a dit « c'est parfait ».
- Note: Inside guillemets, if nesting is required, use straight double quotes
" ".
3. Decimals and Thousands
- Use commas (
,) for decimals, not periods (.).- Incorrect: 10.5%
- Correct: 10,5 % (note the space before the percentage symbol).
- Use non-breaking spaces for thousands separator, not commas.
- Incorrect: 10,000 €
- Correct: 10 000 €
Common Translation Pitfalls (Anglicisms)
Avoid literal translations from English. French requires idiomatic expressions.
| Avoid (English Literal) | Use Instead (Native French) | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Faire sens | Avoir du sens / Être logique | "Faire sens" is an anglicism (to make sense). |
| Appliquer pour | Postuler à / S'inscrire | "Appliquer" is to apply paint/rules, not a job/form. |
| Délivrer des résultats | Fournir/Obtenir des résultats | "Délivrer" is to rescue/free, not to deliver value. |
| Opportunité | Occasion / Chance | "Opportunité" in French means timeliness. |
| Actuellement | En réalité / En fait | Actually means in fact. Actuellement means currently. |
| Éventuellement | Finalement / À terme | Eventually means in the end. Éventuellement means possibly. |
Tone, Register, and Voice
- Register (Tu vs Vous):
- Use « Vous » (formal/plural) by default for B2B, enterprise products, high-ticket services, and older demographics.
- Use « Tu » (informal) for B2C SaaS, modern startups, community copy, and younger demographics.
- Critical rule: Never mix registers within the same text.
- Personality and Imperfect Human Voice:
- Do not sound like a machine. Avoid pompous terms like crucial, paysage en évolution, or témoigne de.
- Write shorter, active sentences.
- Use rhetorical figures of style to make abstract value concrete.
Quality Checklist
Before finalizing any French marketing copy, ensure:
- Address register (« tu » vs. « vous ») is completely consistent and never mixed.
- All double-part punctuation marks (
:,;,!,?) and guillemets («,») use non-breaking spaces before/inside them. - Decimals use commas (
,) and thousands use non-breaking spaces (e.g.,10 000 €). - Copy is free of literal English translations (e.g., "faire sens" or "délivrer des résultats").
- Tone is natural and active, avoiding stuffy/robotic AI words like "crucial", "néanmoins", or "par conséquent".
- Value propositions map clearly to one or more SONCAS(E) motivators (Sécurité, Orgueil, Nouveauté, Confort, Argent, Sympathie, Écologie).
Detailed Guidelines
Load reference files only when directly relevant to the task:
- anti-ai-patterns.md — when formatting text or seeking to remove stiff, unnatural AI syntax patterns
- figures-de-style-fr.md — when seeking to elevate French copy with rhetorical figures (metaphors, comparison, gradation, etc.)
Gotchas
- Mixing the « tu » and « vous » registers: Accidentally using both forms of address in the same asset (e.g., mixing "découvrez" and "crée ton compte") is a major credibility killer. Choose one register based on target audience and stick to it.
- Literal translation of English idioms (Anglicisms): Translating terms like "to scale" as "mettre à l'échelle" (use "développer/propulser" instead) or "to make sense" as "faire sens" (use "avoir du sens" or "être logique").
- Wrong punctuation spacing wrapping: Forgetting to use non-breaking spaces (
or narrow non-breaking spaces) before double-part punctuation (:,;,!,?) and guillemets («,»), causing punctuation to awkwardly wrap to the next line on mobile. - Overly academic or pompous vocabulary: AI default French is often too passive, formal, and heavy. Avoid words like "crucial," "paysage en évolution," "néanmoins," or "par conséquent" in favor of direct, punchy, active phrasing.
- Ignoring local context (France vs. Québec): Vocabulary and tone conventions differ. For example, "email" is standard in France, while "courriel" is preferred/mandatory in Quebec. Confirm target region before drafting copy.
Related Skills
- product-marketing: To align French writing with the primary marketing positioning and core value propositions
- copy-frameworks: To apply short-to-medium copywriting formulas (PAS, AIDA) to French layouts